


100 Themes (Prompts) Challenge

by Ravens_Rambling



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27126370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravens_Rambling/pseuds/Ravens_Rambling
Summary: I will be doing every prompt from a 100 themes challenge list to the best of my ability. It'll probably take me a while to complete. But I will try my best!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Everyone, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Kudos: 7





	1. Giant

**Author's Note:**

> (https://kieraelieson.tumblr.com/post/190019389751/100-gt-themes-challenge- the prompt list)  
> A grand dragon appeared above Roman’s kingdom one late night, and Roman takes it upon himself to go and vanquish the mighty dragon. But once he gets there..the story is a lot different than he thought it was going to be.

Roman was up for the task, he was ready to finally slay this dragon. For years, nearly half of his life, there have been rumors that there was a dragon living somewhere in the high mountains behind their small village. Well, those rumors were proven to be true. Just last night the entire village was sent into a panic when the obvious looking figure in the sky was very much a giant dragon. It flew a certain direction and seemed to completely ignore everyone from down below it. And he saw it for himself as well so he knew it wasn’t some fluke the next day when everyone started talking about it, he was outside talking with a guard when it had flown above them. He couldn’t get a proper look at the creature since it was dark outside, the only indication that it was there at all was the lights from the torch shining and reflecting off its scales. And the fact that the sky turned pitch black dark with no stars to illuminate it.

After last night he made an announcement confirming such a creature does in fact exist. But not to worry as he is going to slay it. There was a shocked gasp and worried looks shot up to him. And he tried his best to explain that he has looked to his family’s books on how to kill such a creature. And, considering that this has been the first time they’ve seen a dragon in over twenty years shows that they are dying out. He’s been hearing talk that the dragon population is dwindling these past few years. Why no one is quite sure. He is certain it’s the cause of all the hunting. But in any case, he can guarantee that the beasts head will be brought back to this village in a twenty-four hours period. He can promise that.

Something Roman didn’t tell them, however, was that his family’s books didn’t quite have…the information to kill a dragon. All it mainly showed was information about the general dragons, but from the bits and pieces he could see from the dragon that visited last night is that…that dragon didn’t look anything like the dragons that were in the books. So he…didn’t know what to do. But he was confident that he would figure it out. Surely it can’t be that hard? Just stab it in the neck or belly like how most monsters and animals are, right? Their belly and neck are the weakest points on any sort of monster or animal. Seems to be simple enough.

And so, he left on his horse that morning up to the mountain top where the beast was last seen traveling. Alone. Yes, he was nervous about traveling up there alone. But he couldn’t bring his guards in fear of them seeing how clueless he is in defeating the dragon once he gets to the top! He can’t spoil his perfect image by being such a fool! So no…he’s going up there alone. And if he doesn’t come back well… maybe Remus can become king. He probably won’t be the best king but…it’s better than nothing…

It took him two days and a half just to get up the mountain and onto the very top of it. It was a long way up with many boulders and snow. Which resulted in a lot of avalanches which wasn’t very good. But he’s here now. Finally.

He tied the horse far away from the very tall and dark cave that stood on the top of this mountain. Then he took a deep breath in and drew his sword. He’s got this. It can’t be that hard, right? Just throw his sword right at the dragon’s neck and it’s as simple as that. Right? Yeah… yeah, stop being such a weakling, Roman. You’re the king! Everyone is looking up to you…

But he gulped once he took a step inside the cave. Oh, dear… it’s so incredibly dark down here. He couldn’t see an inch in front of his face. Good thing he brought a torch. He quickly lit it with his sword and some twigs close to the cave. And once it was lit he stared the darkness down. And he walked inside.

Even with the torch it still was so dark. And it felt like a different kind of darkness than just the normal nighttime darkness. No, this was… it reminded him of goo. It reminds him of that sticky black goo that Remus would throw at the general’s faces when he was younger. And still does whenever some generals from other kingdoms come to visit. That’s what it reminds him of. And it’s…horrible… everywhere he looked there was that sticky blackness, and it felt like it was engulfing him. That mixed between the cobwebs and the small pits here and there. It was an awful experience. Won’t come here again, that’s for sure.

He continued walking until…he made it to a large opening followed by a larger cavern with a ceiling opening from up above. Roman paused and gasped at the sight, it’s… gorgeous… There is a small creak in the far corner, making tiny little sounds of trickling water filling the empty void. In the ceiling, there were sharp rocks pointing down along with some….crystals… those are crystals… And it’s gorgeous… He heard a loud growl coming from far ahead and he froze. His eyes looked down only to take a step back at what he saw.

The dragon. It was a brilliant golden color that sparkled like actual gold in the light shining from the diamonds and the fire burning in the far end of the cave. The scales on this massive dragon were a golden color, but below that was its skin that was a solid black color. It’s long and dagger-like wings flapped out and stretched towards the ceiling. And smoke came billowing out from its nostrils.

“What are you doing here, human? Have you come with a death wish? Or do you think you’re stupid enough to kill me?” It’s bellowing voice came from deep in its throat, even though its mouth wasn’t moving.

Roman stood frozen, completely in awe with what he’s seeing before him. Oh… fuck… He’s fucked. he’s so dead.

“I-I… I…have come with the wish to kill you, foul demon! Prepare to die!” Was he moving his legs? Did he just say that? Yes to both those questions… apparently.

He found himself charging at the dragon with his torch now abandoned and he had drawn his shield up. With a roar of fury, the dragon flapped its wings once then charged directly at the human too. It’s massive ram-like horn and its fangs were the size of huge daggers. It could easily tear his flesh open. But still, he charged.

His sword clattered against its massive horns, and he could feel the smoke billowing from its mouth a moment before he jumped aside as a massive breath of fire emerged and attacked where he was last standing. He still held onto the sword, and he managed to untangle it from the horns clutches.

“You will die foul beast!! You will never terrorize my village ever again! This will be the last day you draw breath! And they will mount your horns up above the thrones so everyone will know that I defeated a dragon!”

“Let’s see about that.” It simply stated and it sped forward again to open its mouth, but this time it drove straight. And suddenly turned to the side. It’s massive fangs dug into his side and he screamed out in pain.

His scream was so loud that the rocks surrounding them shook a little bit. He was about to stab the sword through the beasts head when he froze at hearing… wait a moment… is that… Baby dragon calling?

With blood dripping onto the rocks below him he froze and slowly looked over towards the sound. Where that large fire was, where he had thought the beast was just tending to a warm fire this chilly late afternoon, he could see…three little baby dragons of different colors screaming in their little nests and flapping their tiny wings frantically. They were inside of the flames, but yet they didn’t seem to be crying out of pain but of fear.

“You…have babies…?”

“Wow, I had no idea I have babies. Thanks for telling me. Yes, human, I have babies. And you aren’t going to touch them, not over my dead body!!” The dragon moved forward to block Roman’s view from the babies.

But Roman’s body was dead stiff. How…could he kill a mother…to leave her babies defenseless and orphaned?! That’s not… Sure, dragons are destructive monsters that love to feast on humans and to see villages burnt to the ground. But…even he doesn’t have the heart to break apart this family. No matter what this dragon does.

So…he dropped the sword to the ground with a loud thud. “No… I… I can’t kill you… not when you have babies… I won’t leave babies orphaned… That's… that’s wrong…”

“Oh, how very brave of you! Such a noble king! Don’t you dare lie to me, you foolish mortal!!!” The dragon screamed then it charged at Roman again, until it froze when Roman didn’t move out of the way. Its giant fangs that could easily tear through this king’s flesh was inches from Roman’s face, one of its fangs was pressed against Roman’s shoulder and arm. But still…the king simply stared right at the dragon’s eyes and didn’t flinch… he didn’t whimper. Nothing.

“I said I won’t hurt you. I won’t kill you. And I’m not lying. I won’t ever separate a mother from its babies. And I won’t ever kill a mother in front of her babies. Nor would I ever be the cause of some babies becoming orphaned. So no… My only request is that…you don’t hurt my village anymore. Don’t attack anything… and we’ll call this a deal. How that sound?”

The dragon blinked and slowly pulled away from Roman’s body. Its mouth closed shut and it stared right at Roman’s face. Before it swallowed and slowly nods, “I accept your deal. I was only going past your village to get some extra food for them. Your sheep seem to be the only thing they like. But I’ll refrain from stealing your sheep from now on. I’ll have to find something else they like.”

“Well…that can be rearranged. I’ve heard that we do have a few extra sheep every year that we don’t need. How much do your babies eat? And…what’s your name? If you have one…of course?”

“They eat one sheep every few weeks to a month. And my name?” The dragon tilted his head to look at Roman right in the eyes, and just then Roman has finally seen the scarred side of its face. He didn’t notice that while they were fighting. It looked like…it was clawed off by something big… “It’s Janus, your highness.”

“Wait a minute… Janus?!”

Roman looked down at his arm and he pulled back his sleeve. He revealed on his wrist written in delicate golden cursive was the name ‘Janus’. And it was glowing. “I’m Roman! Roman Prince!”

The mighty dragon stared at him in shock and he stared at the name too… that's… his name… that's… The dragon looked down to his own scaly wrist and revealed his own soulmate mark. In grand red cursive writing is 'Roman’, and that was glowing too.

“We’re.. soulmates?!” Both voices shouted in unison.


	2. Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two partners have been looking for their last soulmate for years, and they finally found him in the least likely of places.

“Roman… you really don’t have to get the fish for me, it’s okay. Let’s just go home, alright?”

“But you said you really wanted this fish! And so I’m gonna get it! Don’t worry, this next one I’m gonna win, just you wait!” He tossed another ring towards the gold center and he groaned when it hit close to the edge but completely went off course. “Dammit! This thing is ringed! I swear it is! But I don’t care, my boyfriend wants that fish and I’m gonna get it for him!” He slammed down another dollar. “More rings! Now!”

Patton had to chuckle softly at that, he always loved how headstrong Roman could be at the simplest of things. He definitely won’t be this determined about one game if he was Roman. And he knows that…once Roman is fired up nothing will stop him until he gets what he wants. So he knows they’re going to be here for a while.

Luckily, the very next ring he tossed managed to go around the middle golden pole and they both cheered. The carny behind the counter even looked surprised, and Patton knew that it was rigged for sure.

But once they finished cheering they were handed the small bag with the supposed fish inside. But the water was so murky that neither of them could see inside. However, they both were too happy to care right at this moment and they thanked the staff member before heading out. It was getting rather late anyways and they both have work tomorrow. They thought they could have a cute date to the carnival while they have half a day to waste. And they had a blast.

Once Roman started driving, however, Patton looked down at the bag and frowned. “Uh… Roman? Are waters for fish suppose to be this murky? I can’t see anything in there… Are you sure they didn’t just give us a bag full of old water?”

Roman paused and he snorted, “Well if they did then I’m gonna sue. I spent twenty dollars on that one game! It may not seem like much, but we could’ve gone to a store and bought a fish there for that much! Course, that game was obviously rigged so… who knows really.” He sighed but once he came to a stop he reached for the bag and looked underneath. “Oh, wait, I think I see a bit of a gold tail on the bottom here, you see that?” He pointed and Patton looked at the bottom too.

“Oh, yeah… I see it. Huh… then maybe he’s just shy. Well, once we get inside you look in the attic cause I know we had an old fish tank from a few years ago stored up there and I’ll get everything else ready? And I’ll look up what type of water a goldfish needs? Oh! And we gonna come up with a name for this little guy! Once we see him properly then we can name him!” Patton reached over to kiss Roman’s cheek. “Thank you for this, Ro-Ro. Your so amazing.”

“Mhm, sounds like a plan. And no problem, Patty. How could I say no to your adorable face?” Roman purred back and kissed him before the light went green and he started driving again.

What they didn’t realize is that their second soulmate timer on their wrist…just went to zero.

Once they got inside Roman went upstairs to look for the tank and Patton was already looking up about the filters and such for the goldfish. Luckily the filter they had before would work perfectly, so he started gathering everything up that he could and making space for the tank. After that, he went upstairs to help Roman search, and after quite some time of searching around, they did indeed found the tank. They brought it downstairs to clean it and the filter, then they poured water into it and waited for it to be filled up. And once it filled up they gently tilted the murky bag into the new freshwater. They saw a golden thing dart down into the water and hide behind one of the huge plastic grass they had. They didn’t see what it looked like, other than a dull golden tail…

“Aw… he’s just shy! Let’s leave him alone for the night to get used to his new home! And let’s go to bed, we have work in the morning.” Patton kissed Roman’s cheek and giggled as he rushed upstairs. Roman chuckled and followed right behind him.

That morning they had found that their second timer had gone down to zero last night, it must’ve been at the carnival. So their soulmate was with them at the carnival! But there were so many people there it would’ve been like trying to find a pin in a haystack! Patton had suggested going back to the carnival tonight, and they would be really crunching it in terms of time, but it won’t be impossible… so that was their plan tonight, and needless to say that they both were so excited. They’ve been looking for their last soulmate for years! And they had just passed their soulmate last night!

The moment they got off work they headed straight to the carnival and split up to search around. They’ll know if they have found their soulmate if their timer starts glowing faintly. But they searched for hours and…nothing…

Patton was the most bummed out, he really wanted to meet his last soulmate. And even Roman had to admit that he was…sad. Very sad.

Every day they went to the carnival to try and see if they could find their soulmate. And every day was…no luck. They were starting to think that their soulmate won’t be coming back to the carnival and they truly lost their only chance at finding them… to make matters worse the goldfish they had gotten hasn’t come out of its plastic grass for days! Ever since they bought him the little guy hasn’t even come out for food….they were starting to think that the little guy died.

So, all in all, it really wasn’t…a good few days for either of them. It felt like they both had the poorest luck known to man…

That was until one day came along that changed it all for the better.

Roman was cleaning up the house while Patton is at work, he figured he could straighten up some while he’s gone. He was cleaning up near the fish tank when he started hearing weak hurt whimpers of pain. It was so quiet and dull that he had to strain his ears to listen, but it was there. He looked around and looked under the table…nothing. It sounded like it was coming…from in the tank? What?

Slowly his pale brown eyes turned to face the tank, and what he saw there made his eyes widened and a loud gasp coming from his mouth.

Trapped under some decorative shiny rocks…was a golden tail. But it wasn’t any normal golden body of a fish. No, this little guy had the tail of a goldfish but…the body of a human! That’s…a merman! And a very stuck and hurt merman!

“Oh, dear! Oh dear, I’ll save you! Hang on!” Roman didn’t even think before he dipped his hand into the tank and gently lifted up the rocks, he tossed them aside out of the tank then he gently scooped up the tiny little golden merman and rose him towards his face. He was so tiny that he couldn’t even fit fully in the palm of his hand.

“Hello there… Woah… your so gorgeous…”

This merman had light brown curly hair that stuck to the sides of his face. And he was skinny… very… very skinny… Roman is certain he could see the little thing’s ribs! The poor thing had…a lot of scars too, the most noticeable one was the burnt scar covering half of his face, it went from his nose all the way down his neck and shoulder. That side’s eye was pale white, and it was clear to Roman that he was blind in that eye. The rest of his body was covered in burns and other tiny scars. And…he was so tiny…he must’ve been only a few inches tall!

And…another thing…the merman looked terrified while being in Roman’s hand. He was panting heavily and trying to scoot away from his face. So, Roman gently placed him back inside the tank.

“Woah, woah, I’m not doing anything to you, little guy. You have some cuts there but I don’t think you need any bandaging. But I’ll keep an eye on it anyways, it could get infected. You really are beautiful…”

Roman saw a faint glowing gold in the corner of his eye and blinked. What is… but when he looked down to see his wrist, his timer that went down to zero a few days ago, was glowing this dazzling gold color that is an awful lot like the scales of this merman…

“Oh…. Oh, my God…” Roman whispered and looked back at the small creature carefully. He looked at the other’s wrist, and if he squinted he could see…there’s a timer on his wrist too. And it was glowing red, he even had another timer below that one. And both of those timers were on zero! Even the creature looked shocked as well.

Roman couldn’t believe it! That’s why they couldn’t find their soulmate again in the carnival! That’s why it took them years to find their third! Cause it was a merman all along!

Frantically Roman dashed off to find a phone to call Patton, leaving a very confused and startled tiny merman in his sight. The multicolored eyes of the merman glanced down to his timer and swallowed.

“Maybe all humans aren’t so bad after all…”


	3. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is finally free after so long, he is free from that collector. And now he wants to see his soulmate.

Have to get away. Have to get away, now. He’s finally free after so long, and he can’t waste this opportunity. He has to run now before that human catches him again.

The tiny wingless fae ran as fast as his tiny tiny few inches short legs could carry him. He kept trying to jump into the air and fly, but alas…that monster of a human took his wings for his ‘collection’ and chose to torture him now that he’s mostly defenseless. Which was right. Without a faes wings…they are practically defenseless. Most of their magic is in their wings and it transfers to their spine and then their body. But since he doesn’t have his wings anymore… he can’t do magic. And he can’t fly.

Virgil wasn’t even sure how he got out, it was such a blur that he can barely remember anything. He thinks he…was able to dose the human with the sleeping injection somehow… He didn’t think it would be enough to do much to a human but he guessed he was wrong. That must’ve been some powerful stuff for sure then… it might’ve been enough to kill his tiny body.

That human is a monster, he kept him trapped in a glass cage for…years. The only time he was ever let out was for experimenting and that was…it. He took his wings when he first captured him, and he was forced to stare at his wings and other fae wings up on the wall behind a glass sheet. And he didn’t want to know what happened to the other faes, considering that there wasn’t anyone else in that entire house…

Virgil was terrified, he knows at any time that human can wake up and follow his muddy footsteps. Course it’ll be hard for him to follow, but if there’s anything he knows is that humans are very determined to get what they want. And what they want is his body.

So, he continued running and running. He wasn’t stopping for a single second as he crashed through the branches and bushes. Come on… come on…

That’s when he heard something, an all too familiar ribbit noise. He stopped dead in his tracks and he panted as he looked around the swamp. His eyes landed on a ghosty white form of a frog that’s bigger then himself coming towards him. There was a faint mix of purple and pale blue inside of this ghostly white form. He was almost transparent but not… completely. And his froggy eyes stared down at Virgil as if asking for a ride. Well, of course, Virgil isn’t going to say no to that.

“Take me to my soulmate. Please?”

He petted the frog’s chest, and suddenly he had a frogs long tongue around his skinny and frail body. Virgil yelped but held on to his tongue before he was placed on the frogs back and the ghostly frog started hopping away into the swamp.

Since he was a young fae he’s known his soulmates animal is a frog. It appeared to him one rough night when he just stayed up crying until he fell asleep. The frog hopped through his open window and landed on his bed. He was about to scream in shock, but he stared at the frog. And he found a sense of…calmness almost immediately. A sense of…peacefulness, happiness. And ever since then whenever he’s had a really rough day the frog would hop over and he would get that same exact feeling over and over again. And it was his lifesaver once he got captured by that human. It was the only thing keeping him going. So he knew that his soulmate was a very calming but joyful person. Which made his heart soar, but also worry him. Would he bring down his mate cause of his constant worries?! He didn’t know and he guessed he was about to find out.

Another thing, however, was that this frog can’t interact with anything physically other than himself or his mate. So the glass cell that the human kept him in? He could only faze through it, but he couldn’t faze Virgil through it. For some…strange reason? He figured it was probably some special glass to hold on faes and to make sure their soulmate animal couldn’t get through. Which would make a lot of sense?

But… now he was about to meet his joyful and happy soulmate. And he’s terrified. All he’s wearing right now is rags. He’s a wingless, defenseless, fae. And he’s so skinny and frail that he probably looks like a speck of dirt right now. What a great first impression this will be.

The frog continued hopping along until he reached a small village, well…at least this doesn’t look that bad… oh, nope… there are humans… of fucking course there are humans here. He had tears in his eyes while he was gripping onto the frog tightly and ducking down. Dammit… don’t tell him his mate is a human?! Who hates him in the fucking world?! Seriously… who hates him, there has to be someone!

It could be any other creature, a vampire… A werewolf maybe! Even a cat person he’ll take! But a human?! This is going to be bad, he knows he’s going to be horrible…

The frog led him between houses and across roads, luckily it was much later in the day so most of everyone was already inside having dinner. And yep, he could smell food drifting from these houses windows. And it made his stomach growl hungrily. He doesn’t… remember the last time he’s eaten something solid… and that wasn’t drugged. It smelt so fantastic… but he shook his head and continued to focus on the task at hand.

The frog continued hopping his way down the village, and he wondered where exactly he was taking him. Until…the frog came upon this rather large house, it was almost the size of a mansion. And he could tell it was one of the fanciest houses he’s seen other than the king’s palace of course. Before Virgil could make a noise the frog hopped up to the window. It made a loud croak to signal it’s arrival and someone with a blue cape turned.

This man…okay, he was really super cute. He had pale tan really curly hair that laid on his shoulders. And he thinks he could see a little man bun on the back of his thick hair. His face is chubby and he had round cheeks. And on those cheeks were freckles sprayed throughout his face. And he had the most gorgeous bluest eyes in the entire world. It reminded him of a clear sky during the middle of the day… and that nose… it was so round and adorable. He was short, and a chubby in his stomach and arms. But, stars up above… this man was so frickin cute that it made Virgil’s heart beat rapidly.

There was a child on the bed, a human child, and she reached up to tug on this man’s arm. “Mister… you were saying something?”

“Ah, yes, try not to eat anything solid for a few days so your stomach can heal. Only drink liquids and make sure you stay with your mama in case you faint again, okay? Try to stay out of the direct sunlight and stay indoors the best you can.” Now Virgil understood why he got that sense of calmness and happiness. This man’s voice just radiated that as he spoke to the child.

“Okay! Thank you, Mr. Baker!” She giggled and hopped down, then she ran off past some curtain into another room, probably where her mother is.

“Are you…a healer?” That’s your most important question, huh Virgil?

“Well…I’m a magician… but I specialize in healing magic. So I guess you could say I’m the village healer. Are you… you’re a fae… and your riding… on my soulmate frog… does that mean you’re my soulmate?”

“I…. I guess so?”

This Mr. Baker drew in a shaky sob and he looked ready to start crying. He shakily stepped forward to the window sill and had a wobbly smile on his cute face. “I finally…get to meet you face to face… after all these years… and oh… your hurt! And filthy! And… wait a moment… why are you in rags? And… doesn’t have wings?”

Oh…here comes that major questions, Virgil wondered how long it was going to take before he mentioned it. “I… The reason why our frog couldn’t get me was that… I was trapped…by a collector… He took my wings and kept me trapped for…years… I'm… I’m sorry, I’m probably not the best soulmate you could’ve asked for. I’m nothing… I don’t got a home, or family… I don’t even have magic anymore. And I can’t fly. I can't… I’m the most useless awful fae ever…a disgrace… and I won’t blame you if you say you don’t want me as your mate…”

“Are…. Are you kidding me?!” This man gasped out and he immediately shook his head. “True… I wasn’t expecting my mate to be a fae but… I don’t care that you can’t fly or have nothing. I don’t care about that. I only care about you and your safety. Oh…. Your so filthy and….dirty and… oh, is those cut-up rags your wearing?!” He gasped with a shaky sob and he disappeared down the long hallway. He came back with a small dark purple jacket and some black pants. “I have this…once you take a bath?”

“It’s… perfect… By the way… I didn’t quite catch your name? I’m Virgil…”

“oh! Where are my manners! I’m Patton! It’s such a pleasure to meet you, my soulmate. And don’t you worry, I’m going to protect you from now on. No more collectors or pain, okay? You will be safe here, I can promise you that. It’s so great to finally meet you… I’m so sorry I didn’t come to save you… if I had known…”

Virgil shook his head, “It’s okay… I’m okay now, that’s all that matters. And I’m finally here…with you. Now… uh…where’s that shower? I could really use one right now. You have a nice name, Patton.”

“Right this way! Thank you! And Virgil is a gorgeous name too!!”


	4. Peeking (Peeked)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan is fine with not having a soulmate, hes fine being alone. That was until one day when an alien crash landed on earth right before him, and a trail of green is leading him to said unconscious alien. What does he do now?!

Logan never believed in soulmates. Quite honestly, he thought it was a stupid concept. After all, having a person that is destined to be with you from the moment you were born and you are fated to be with that person no matter what? Yeah, it sounds stupid to him. He likes to have his own options in his life, he likes to be control of himself and his life. Not have some God or whatever sorted this stupid tradition all out to be the dictator of his life. And to think people would just let this all happen is…even more stupid, quite frankly. He feels like he’s the only sane one in this entire world for not believing in soulmates and that one streak of color that’s supposed to show up and lead him to his soulmate. Lead him to his ‘forever person’…

And it’s not just cause he doesn’t have that one streak of color. That’s right… Logan Berry who moved to the outskirts of Florida to get away from everything a few years ago and currently lives in his car, doesn’t have a soulmate.

He remembers when he was younger and hearing his classmates talk about soulmates and being able to see a color or colors on the ground and it’s supposed to lead to where your soulmate just was…he thought it was a trick. A fluke. He thought it was yet another stupid gag that his classmates try to pull on him. Well, it won’t work this time.

Except when he said that he remembers all eyes turned on him and he got weird looks. People started laughing and calling him loveless, that he’s so cold-hearted that he isn’t even destined to be with someone. That his soul is dead from the inside and this is only proof of it.

Needless to say that he ran home crying to his mother, and his mother explained that what they were saying…was indeed true. And that it’s okay to not have a soulmate.

He knew she was lying.

He’s a freak, an anomaly. A person that shouldn’t be alive but yet is… A person that has been alone and will die alone… without ever feeling loved romantically with anyone… In a way, he didn’t mind that part, honestly. He was okay without the whole feeling part of this ordeal. He doesn’t mind being alone and not having to deal with romance in his life.

It’s just…all the rumors that have spread cause of it. He had told one of his 'friends’ about it years later and it spread like wildfire around his university like that. And since then it’s spread around his small town. He knew he had to get out of there or he won’t ever get away from the term 'loveless’.

So, that’s when he packed his bags into his car and simply drove away one night. He’s been living in his car for around…two years now. And honestly, he won’t give it up for the world. He actually really liked being alone, he liked setting up his own schedule. His own routine. He liked only thinking and taking care of himself. Plus, he also gets to do his studies while driving around and it really wasn’t that bad at all. Which drives home the point he was making, soulmates are all this fruitless endeavor. But no, no one would listen to him. Of course not…

There’s another thing that he doesn’t believe in as he is studying the stars currently. That thing is extraterrestrial lifeforms. Does he believe there could be alien life out there? Possibly. Does he believe that these alien lives could be smart enough to build a spaceship that could travel light-years in the span of a few seconds? No.

But, that’s not important right now. He has matters to attend to. And that’s to set up his telescope in the middle of this cornfield so he could get a good shot of venus tonight. So, what if he could get in trouble for this. He didn’t exactly ask permission and he thinks this piece of land is owned by someone. But not like he cares, he just needs to write down some notes then he’ll be on his way. Simple as that.

Things can never be that simple, can it?

Logan did set up his equipment like normal and he was busy minding his business and writing down notes when he saw a strange-looking…green dot in the sky. That’s no star? He turned his telescope towards the green dot and he couldn’t…make out what it was. It’s something large… it’s an object, that’s for sure. And for some reason, it looks like it’s heading this way! It’s an asteroid! Or a satellite maybe? But it won’t have that weird spherical shape, that he knows! So what it is?

Crash!

Huh, guess it was heading for land, it seemed like the span of seconds had happened between this thing being high up onto the sky, before crashing here.

Luckily he managed to get out of its way just in time, but even so the loud impact it made in the cornfield nearly made his eardrums burst.

Once the loud noises finally stopped he grabbed for a flashlight and pointed it towards this weird sphere-like object. It was dark, almost a black color. But yet it had bright red lights going through it. And it reminded him of veins almost. It was…intriguing. And he wanted to study it. It could still be a satellite though so maybe he shouldn’t do that. He doesn’t know any satellites that look like this but who knows what big corporations build nowadays…

He was about to just take a piece of the debris and get into his car to hop away when something told him to look down. And when his dark blue gaze looked down to the ground he gasped loudly. A dark…green color was leading him straight to the front of this weird…thing before him. Was this…what people were always saying about soulmate streams of color? It was…dazzling… gorgeous…

Okay, now he is hallucinating, he probably got hit by a rock when this thing fell and was knocked unconscious… That has to be it. But even if that’s the case he still has to see what it is…right? So he swallows and slowly approaches the strange thing with his flashlight pointed right at the front. Shakily he makes his way forward with sucked in a breath. He finds that the red veins make an outline around what looked like a door. And there is a handle… Slowly he reaches out for the handle and opens the door. Then he peeked inside. What he saw inside made his heart stop beating for a millisecond.

This…creature must’ve stood nine to ten feet tall when it’s standing up. Its knees were bent backward and instead of feet or toes, there were hooves like deer. All of its skin was this dark green scaly color except for his many arms and hooves that was a black gradient color. It had a long slimy tail that reminded him of a squid tentacle or maybe an octopus. His dark green skin looked rough, not soft, and delicate like human skin is. It almost looks like his skin was made out of rocks itself… if that’s even possible…? And there was a dark pulsing green light streaming from down to his hooves all the way up to his cheeks, and it reminded Logan of veins under a human’s skin and it was glowing. There were two massive sets of horns, one set coming from its forehead and going upwards. The other would be where humans’ ears would go and folded downwards. It even had two antennas coming from its neck and going down to its chest. And he didn’t have a single trace of hair anywhere on its body. It wore an elaborate outfit with something fluffy on one shoulder and a long dark green sash across his chest. It held the sense of royality like Logan was in the presence of royalty here…

There was also this blue liquid everywhere that almost looked like…blood?

The creature was breathing… and groaning faintly… it must have passed out in the collision. And Logan didn’t know what to do. He looked back down to the ground and yep, that trail of dark green ended right at this strange pod. This strange alien creature.

His brain won’t work, his body won’t move. What…is he supposes to do about this?!

He found his body slowly moving forward to touch the creature’s skin, and yep… that’s real all right, it isn’t just some costume. It feels like…rocks too? Like he’s touching some slimy rocks that are deep in a cave near a waterfall. What is going on?!

He finds himself finally taking a deep breath and slowly coming forward. He starts to pick up this creature and drag him over to his car. He has this sense that this creature is his soulmate. And if that’s true then…he can’t let it be captured and experimented on. No fucking way is he letting that happen. No way is he letting his soulmate slip away after all these years. He opens the car and heaves the massive creature into his back seats after setting down all his files and paperwork to the floor. It’s a good thing he exercises every day…Once the creature was placed down he crawled forward to the front seat and turned on the car.

He doesn’t know where to go. But he started the car and simply drove away from the crash site.

Looks like he might have a soulmate after all…


	5. Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil, a borrower, knows that his soulmate comes from an abusive situation. And that he's a human. At first, he doesn't want anything to do with him cause of that. But now after meeting his soulmate face to face and seeing what situation he is in exactly, he knows he has to make his presence known. Whether he likes to or not.

Hands.

Something that most humans would see to be simply limbs of their own body. A tool to use on a day to day basis. Like a shovel, or a mop. 

But for a borrower? It can mean life or death. For a borrower… A simple hand can be lights out permanently. For a few inches tall creature, a human hand, or really most animals hands/paws for that matter, can kill him within seconds. 

Even of his own species can kill with their own hands. They can hurt, abuse, take advantage of others with those very hands. And he knows just how similar humans treat their own hands. They do indeed use it more like a shovel huh? Sure, they can use hands for other purposes. But for Virgil that lives in the walls and sees things behind closed doors… Oh, he knows fine and well the horrors that human hands can be like to other humans. He knows how distressing and horrifying it can be. 

He's seen it plenty of times with his very eyes. 

But… He also can feel the pain that human hands can inflict. His soulmate… He can tell his soulmate is abused on a daily basis by the slaps and pushes he feels. He can feel the harsh sadness that overwhelms him night after night. He can feel a sense of loneliness and isolation. 

His soulmate isn't in a good situation, his soulmate is a victim of abuse. And judging by how much intense emotions he does feel, he thinks his soulmate is a human. He's been told that it's uncommon, but it has happened before, where a borrower has had a human soulmate. And humans feel emotions more intensely than us borrowers since they are massive in size and have a bigger brain. Not that borrowers are stupid now, they are quite clever too. No, no, but borrowers don't feel intense emotions so vividly that they shut down. They don't feel so harshly that they forget to breathe. 

Borrowers have adapted to survive with quick decision making even in the toughest of situations. So, most of the time, borrowers don't think on emotions. They don't have time to dwell on fear or panic. They drive off of logic. 

So, yes, humans may have the biggest brain, but they certainly aren't very good at survival. How they lived for so long is beyond him. 

But, back to the point in mind, he feels emotions that's so intense it makes him dizzy. It makes him almost want to get sick at times. So...his mate is clearly a human if that's the case. Which he...really...really doesn’t want one single fucking bit. He hasn't had the best experiences with humans so far, and he really doesn't want to deal with a human for life and to deal with them romantically right now. He doesn't have the patience…

So, in a way, he's been sort of avoiding his soulmate for quite a number of years now. He finds it interesting that those intense sad overwhelming feelings he does have he’s stayed persistent all this time. He must not have the strength to move forward, he must not be able to stand up out of himself either out of fear or embarrassment. He would say it's none of his problem. That he should move on like he's done every single year. And that was his thought when he moved into another house after the last resident has gotten suspicious of his presence and thought some rats were stealing the food and small items. That's his cue to leave.

He moved in right next door with his small duffle bag over his shoulder that he made from some extra fabric from a shirt and two strings that he's managed to tie together. And it's been working quite well for him actually. 

It hasn't even been a few days that he's moved in that he heard it. The screaming and yelling, the slamming of doors or things flying off the counter. Now, he's been in a few homes that are similar to this. The abusive nature… The first time he did he got a bit excited that the victim could be his soulmate, but nope… he's learned to just mind his own business and continue on with his life. 

That was until he heard something that made his eyes widened. It was the sound of a slap across a person's cheeks. And the feeling of...pain. Sadness. Dread. Ashamed… Embarrassment. The feeling that he'll do something right next time. The feeling of utter defeat and dread that he really is useless. That feeling that...he really isn't meant for anything in life.

That no one truly loves him. 

It's a sickening feeling that is in the pit of his stomach and is eating him alive. 

That same feeling that he’s felt for so many years. 

It makes him get up from his spot in the vent and slowly crawl over to see past the bars. There were two men below him, a short chubby guy that was yelling at...a much taller and slightly chubby man. 

That taller man… His brown hair is curly and he could tell from here that it's extremely fluffy, it almost reminds him of clouds. And he definitely has freckles, that he can tell right off the bat. His round glasses sit on the bridge of his nose and behind those glasses were bright blue eyes. His outfit was mostly of pale blue and tans, it was a nice shade and style on his outfit. And Virgil just...stared. 

That's his soulmate. He can tell right off the bat at seeing him. 

That's...his soulmate. And that other man is yelling at his soulmate for 'not cooking the meat right'.

That fucking bitch…

But Virgil doesn't do a single thing, he stays inside of his vent and doesn't move a single inch. That was until the taller man was directed to go to his room before he made more of a mess out of things. Then Virgil followed him up the stairs and to a bedroom from the vents. There he stared at this taller man as he sobbed and cried while sitting on the bed. His cheek was bright red thanks to the slap and Virgil felt hopelessness course through him. Poor guy… 

But this is his soulmate, he can tell. It's hard to explain it but he can just… tell… which means he has to expose himself, which will be heard. 

Without debating about it, however, he simply opens the vent some and hops down. Just gotta rip it off like a bandaid. 

"Hey there!" Wow, stupid introduction, Virgil. What's your encore? "My name is Virgil. And I’m a borrower… I think… I may be your soulmate?" He tries to feel calm so his soulmate would feel calmer and can talk through his emotions. 

The man nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing Virgil's voice and the borrower could see him whip to and fro. "Whos there?! What are you doing here?! Stay back! What's a borrower?!" He reached behind him to grab a hardback book from the counter and tried to hold it like it indeed...is a weapon. Alright, maybe his soulmate isn't the brightest in the bunch… 

"Well, I'm here cause that bitch yelling at you were waking me up from my nap. And I can feel your sorrow and loneliness so I...figured I should pop by. And I'm a borrower." Virgil hopped up on top of another book by the dresser and looked to this man. 

This man spun around and yelped at seeing Virgil on the dresser, before Virgil could say anything the man raised up the hardcover book and brought it down onto the small borrower. Luckily, Virgil knows to be quick on his feet, he learned that a long long time ago, so he easily jumped out of the way. 

“Hey?! What gives man! I was trying to have a normal conversation with you! Why you gotta try to kill me for?!” Virgil barked out as he stood up and brushed down his shirt and pants. 

“I… Your real…?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m real! Last time I checked I’m real. But if I didn’t move fast enough I would’ve been a goner no thanks to you! As I was saying, I think I’m your soulmate. So, I have a few questions for you and-” 

He was cut off by a loud thud, and Virgil looked over to see that this man had passed out completely. Well...His soulmate is something, ain’t he?


	6. Borrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People always told Patton that he was too sweet for his own good, he never thought twice before giving to others. And well, that generosity might’ve just cost him his life.

Patton had known it was a bad idea to walk into this abandoned laboratory. He had heard the stories, heard the rumors. But he thought…if there really are creatures in here living alone and eating scraps from outside…maybe he can save them? Or at least…give them some food? That was his intention. He had just wanted to help them survive. He just wanted to help.

_He couldn’t see them, but he knew they were there._

Why was he so stupid and not listened to the others to begin with?! Why must he be so stupid and blinded by his heart all the time?! Why must-

_Thousands of spiders have crept into the room. And he hears them crawling all around him._

Patton’s breathing has picked up and he can’t stop shaking. His hands let go of the box of cookies, and he heard with a loud crashed as it fell to the ground. Oh God is this how he dies?! Is this how it’s going to end?! Oh, God. Oh, God. It can’t be! He’s still so young! He doesn’t want to get eaten by spiders! There has to be some way out of this! But…he can’t even open his eyes right now…

_And they were hungry…_

“My, my, children… look at what we have here… a rather kind-hearted male for you younglings to devour…” a slick voice came from beside him, right…next to his ear… it reminded Patton of lace… thin and delicate. But full of grace. And he could hear the clicking of its fangs, including the clicking of the legs against the ground. And… oh fucking no-

“P-Please… I don’t…wanna die…!”

“Oh? You don’t wanna die… hm? No one wants to die. No one purposely wants to die… even the ones that take their own life…they don’t want to die… that’s their minds playing tricks on them. But you…my good sir, have stumbled upon the wrong territory. You have stumbled upon the wrong place. And now you shall pay.” He felt it moving closer, then he felt some web pull against his arm.

“Wait!! Wait!” Patton cried, “I… I come with no ill will… I come with no harm… I come bearing food for your children… I come…with food… once I heard about the rumors of a creature living here I thought I would bring you food since you have to hunt for yourself. I figured it would help you out. That’s the only reason why I’m here! I promise on my life!!”

“Hm… Now, how can I trust you, I wonder? You could just be lying to save your own skin as most humans would do.” The clicking came over to Patton’s front and he couldn’t stop shaking. “Open your eyes human. Look into mine. I can see if you are telling the truth or not. I can look into your soul…”

Patton took a breath, he doesn’t want to open his eyes. He really doesn’t. But he has to, does he? He has to if he wants to keep his life, he just hopes that this creature can read him correctly cause this all rides on it.

Slowly he reluctantly opens his eyes and what he saw before him made his entire body tense up. He started crying before he could stop himself.

This creature before him was terrifying, it reminded Patton of one of the horrible nightmares that would leave him screaming and covered in sweat.

Most of this creatures body was a human, just a normal teenager male. It even wore a black striped hoodie and a black shirt underneath, his long legs wore black pants. However, that’s where the familiarity ends.

This creature is extremely pale, so pale that his skin was almost a chalk white. Around its lips, the skin was actually peeling off, and besides said lips were two small clicking purple fangs. It wore a skull over its nose and eyes so it was hard to see those features. But glowing purple and green eyes emerged from the eye socket of the skull. Curly dark brown hair poked out of tiny homes from the skull. And Patton didn’t what to know where that skull came from at all.

On this creature’s back was thick purple hairy spider legs that were as big as Patton’s arm. Maybe even thicker. They were hairy and long, it looked like if you stretched them out it would be longer than Patton’s body.

And the creature was smiling.

It’s different colored eyes glowed brightly while he stared right into Patton’s blue eyes, and Patton wanted to scream. This was his worst nightmare come to life. And he is terrified. But he couldn’t move. And he wasn’t sure if it was fear that was keeping him in place, or something else. But he is petrified nonetheless.

“Hm, so you were telling the truth. You must be idiotic and naive then. Why would you come here just to feed us? We could easily eat you and-”

Patton didn’t hear the rest of what he said as his eyes went back and his body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The creature clicked his tongue at the sight and looked amongst his children. “No, we aren’t going to eat him, unfortunately… he really was telling the truth… he didn’t come to hurt us. We should thank him for caring about us. Let’s take care of him until he wakes up. Then we can borrow him and use him to get us more food. How does that sound, lovelies?”

There was a sound of tiny chirping and clicking, and the creature smirked.

_“Wonderful…”_


	7. Tinker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan gets a call one day about a unique request, of course, he would accept this request. What he didn't know was that this customer is going to change his life for the better.

"Excuse me, are you the Tinker Logan?" 

"Yes… and who might you be? Another customer?"

"I...suppose so, yes. I need your help with something. And I'll pay you handsomely for your troubles." 

"Oh? Need my help with something, you say? Can I ask what this manner is for?" 

"It's a bit... personal you see. It's for my son. He's sick. Very sick. And he needs a friend during this hard time. It's hard for him to make friends at school before now. But since he's gotten so sick and has to be homeschooled he has no one to talk to. I try to be his buddy, but there's a difference between a buddy and a parent if you understand what I mean. I can only do so much." 

"I… don't think you understand what a tinker does… I'm not a clown that shows up to birthday parties to make the kids laugh. I build machines. Complex machines for business." 

"Yes! I know that! You build A.I.s and robots, I know that. So...you can build him a friend, can't you not?" 

"Hm… yes, I suppose I can. I did build a helper A.I. for a hospital not too far from here. And I did put in a personality chip so it's good with children… I've never made a friend per se, however. But… I do like a bit of a challenge. I'll text you my email and we will discuss money, terms of service, how long it'll take, and the specifics you want out of this...buddy of yours. Is that satisfactory?" 

"Plenty! Thank you so much! Virgil is going to be jumping with joy once I tell him the good news! I'll be awaiting your email!" 

Logan simply hummed in response before he hung up. Well...this is certainly an interesting request… He has heard of tinkers building disability assistance A.I.s before, and so of course they have built 'friends' for children that are deeply sick. But he's never done it before. He wonders exactly what this man wants from him, does he want a bubbly cheery friend or someone to simply be with his child and to support him during this rough time. What sort of personality exactly does he want? What age does he want the A.I. to be? So many questions… and so little time. 

Logan was quick on texting this person his email. He wanted to get started on this project right away. He found out that his new customer is named Roman Knight. Not a bad name at all, it has a nice ring to it and sounds quite British, maybe? In any case, he liked that name. 

And Roman’s son's name is, Virgil Knight. A 10-year-old kid. Supposedly he adopted Virgil when he was just a baby and loves him deeply. But a few years ago Virgil came down with a very harsh and rare illness that the doctors say most don't survive through it. They will try their best, of course, but there's a very slim chance that he's going to survive with how young he is and since his body has always been on the weaker side since birth. Now, Logan isn't a fan of kids, but even that broke his heart. 

Roman wanted a friend for Virgil, one that likes to tell jokes and stories. And to play games with him. A friend that won't leave him as his past friends have. He needs stability in his life. He needs a friend that will make him laugh. He needs a friend to vent to when times are tough. He needs someone there by his side that he knows won't get bored with his anxiety or panic attacks. Someone to ground him when he has his attacks, and someone to calm him down. Almost like an older brother, or a second dad. 

And Roman also promised that he would offer Logan riches for this. He does have a lot of money from his family, so Roman says. Logan doesn't care about that, however, he only cares about the excitement of doing this new project. 

Once Roman sent him a list of everything he wants for this new friend of his son’s, including appearance and personality, he was ready to go. 

It took Logan almost half a year to complete this project, he made sure to make everything with fine detailing, and he wanted this new machine to last a long time. Cause he expected that even if Virgil does survive this illness that he would still want the companionship, and maybe a disability service machine as well. And if he doesn't survive well… Roman will certainly use it for something. If he does return it then Logan'll either save it to his junkyard for another customer that comes by that might want something similar. Or he'll donate it. But, in any case, he was very excited to reveal the final project to Roman. And since he wanted this to be a treat to both Roman and Virgil, he offered that he could come to their house and drop it off. Which they accepted. 

He ringed the doorbell with his final project beside him. He gave a proud look upon his creation before taking a breath in. He hopes Virgil likes this one cause if not it’s back to square one. 

He was expecting Roman to answer the door, but instead, a young boy in a wheelchair answered it. Logan knew this was Virgil from the pictures Roman has sent him. Roman loves to talk about Virgil all the time, that man really loves his kid. 

Virgil's hair was jet black with dark purple stripes throughout his bangs. His skin was very pale and he had purple lipstick on with black eyeshadow. He wore a simple purple shirt and black pants. One of his eyes were a deep green, and the other a dark hazel. Over the past few months, Virgil's physical strength has dwindled to the point where he can't stand up by himself. And he needs to be put on an oxygen mask in order to breathe the correct air his lungs need. Logan could tell, as well, that he has lost weight since the last few pictures that Roman has sent him. 

"Greetings, Virgil. I imagine that your dad told you I was arriving today? I have your new disabled assistance machine! I have named him Patton, but you may call him anything you want." Logan smiled as he pressed a button on the machine’s neck and it sprang to life. 

"Hello there! My name is Patton!" The machine beamed and looked down to Virgil, he smiled softly. "Nice to meet you, Virgil. How are you this fine day?" 

Virgil looked between both Logan and Patton, he seemed incredibly nervous all of a sudden. He rolled his chair backward but before he could go far Roman poked his head around the corner and beamed. 

"Logan! You’re here! Woah… that's for Virgil? Damn…" He came over to Virgil and rubbed his arm. "It's okay. Logan was the man I told you about, remember? He won't be mean to you, promise. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. But can you play with the A.I. and see if you like it? It won't hurt you either." 

Virgil seemed apprehensive about it, but he gave a hesitant nod. 

"I'll buy you some more eyeshadow once this is all over. Promise." Roman kissed the top of Virgil's head before walking over to Logan with a smile. "Hey! Sorry about that, you know how Virgil is with strangers. So this is the A.I., right?" He asked while stepping aside to let Logan and Patton inside.

"It's okay. This is the first time that we've met face to face so I expected him to be anxious. But yes, this is Patton. He might be a bit too...hyper for Virgil, but if he is I can make quick adjustments to his personality chip. But he should know when to calm down." Logan nods as he steps inside. Their place is really quite grand and it reminded Logan of a palace. He gestured for Patton to go interact with Virgil while he's talking to Roman. 

Roman closed the door behind him and let Logan follow him into the next room where there was tea already prepared. 

They talked for quite some time, and during this time Logan was becoming more and more curious. Virgil is spending a lot of time with Patton, does that mean he likes him? He doesn't know… But that question soon was answered by a loud giggle that came from the other room. Both Roman and Logan paused in their discussion upon hearing that noise. That sounded like… Virgil. They both stood up and tiptoed into the other room, and they peeked inside. 

And yep, Virgil was howling with laughter at Patton who had eyeliner all over his face. And it looks like Patton had just told a pun too. "I've...never seen Virgil laugh this hard in...years…" Roman whispered under his breath in awe. 

But all the fun came to a halt when all the hard laughing made Virgil choke. Before Roman or Logan could move, Patton was right there in helping him breathe. He adjusted the oxygen tank behind the wheelchair then he rubbed Virgil's back while he calmed down. Virgil silently thanked him under his raspy breath and hugged Patton. 

And that's how Logan knew he made the perfect creation for the boy. 

"That is how I ended up with my big bro, Patty! And with two dads!" 

Virgil's best friend, Janus, tilted his head in confusion, "Wait? Two dads? How is that?" 

Virgil grinned shyly, "While they were making my big bro over those months they grew really close. It didn't take long for papa to confess to dad that he liked him. Lo was so confused and shocked. That was... five years ago. My illness is almost gone now, I still do have a raspy voice as I know you’ve picked up by now. And I still have attacks every so often. But I feel tons better. Those few years did suck, but it wasn't that bad since I ended up with a big bro and two dad's by the end of it." 

"Damn, you are a lucky son of a gun. Battling that illness and practically having an A.I. big brother and another dad falling on your lap just like that. I wish something like that happened to me. Maybe not the sickness part, you can keep that." 

Virgil chuckled, "Yeah… There were a lot of ups and downs. But the ups were definitely worth all the downs in the end."


	8. Adapt/ Neko Meets Loneliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this story is here, I would recommend you read it but you don't have to: https://ravens-rambling.tumblr.com/post/188648992213/neko-meets-naga  
> And the sequel: https://ravens-rambling.tumblr.com/post/189700395193/naga-meets-snow
> 
> It has been a year since Virgil found the broken, scared, chained boy in the alleyway. Things have been going good for Dee but for Virgil? Not so much.

It has been one year since Virgil stumbled upon the chained boy in the alleyway. During that time a lot has changed, but most of everything has relatively stayed the same. 

Dee is now in school, he was very hesitant about leaving Virgil for most of the morning and afternoon. Actually, on the very first day, he was crying. The child actually thought Virgil was dumping him here. Like he was trying to get rid of him. It was both very very heartbreaking but sweet at the same time. Even though it's just been one year Dee has grown so attached to him that he doesn't want to leave. He doesn't want to say goodbye to Virgil. And that really warms his heart. 

It was weird not having Dee at home all the time. But he knew the school Dee is going to is the best to help him. It's a specialty school that helps traumatized children hybrids both recover from what they've been through, plus teach them everything they had missed while they weren't in school. Let's just say that Virgil is very envied that Dee has something like this in his life. Here he gets to learn new things, he gets to meet other children that are just like him, and he gets personal therapy every day. 

When Dee came back the first day he was so surprised when Virgil was walking up to the school that he wrapped his tail around Virgil's neck and hugged him. Something that he never has done before. And that made Virgil happy. Dee wouldn't shut up that entire rest of the day about the new things he's learned and the new people he got to meet. 

And when he learned that tomorrow he's going to school again he nearly started crying in happiness. 

Virgil is so so happy for the little naga, he deserves happiness and friendship. He deserves to see the world. 

However...there has been a voice nagging at the back of his mind. Virgil has noticed...when he's alone at home cleaning the house while Dee is gone to school… That he's lonely. It's lonely here without Dee. And when he gets home it's always changing, homework, dinner, some hangout time, then bed. They used to spend so much time together that now he feels so...left out. Alone. 

But he should be happy! Dee is finally getting a chance to be a child like how he's always meant to be! Not a scared, broken, quiet kid anymore, he's growing into his scales now but… 

Why is he not happy? 

He feels horrible for asking that question to himself nearly once a week as he's eating lunch alone at home. Or when he takes a nap during the afternoon and wakes up with another panic attack… normally Dee comes in to calm him down. Or how he would have Dee help him make their lunches. Or how they would eat outside and just chat. 

He misses that… he missed that so much. But it's not like he can take Dee out of school. It's helping him, it's making him happy for once in his life. 

What can he do to fix this? 

Dee has been so amazing at adapting to this way of life. For his entire life he's been living in a cage and forced to do tricks every night or else he'll get whipped. To being in a warm house in a warm bed and being happy. He adapts so quickly to his surroundings that even Emile is a bit surprised. But Emile does say that he is a child, after all. He will always have memories of his time in that circus, but children are the easiest to change and adapt. And since he is quite young it makes it even easier. 

Is he selfish for wanting things back to the way they were? It sounds like he is. He just...misses his buddy… 

Maybe they need to spend some time together, maybe that will help him get through this? Maybe spending some time together will help him see that Dee isn’t leaving forever, he’s still right here and they can spend as much time together as they want whenever they want it. 

So, when he picked up Dee that evening he was prepared to ask him if he wants to go miniature golfing that weekend. Maybe they could go to the arcade too and to spend some time together. 

However...Before he could get a word in Dee speed his way right towards him the moment he saw Virgil. 

“Dad! Dad! Can I go to Remus’ house for the weekend?! They want me to have a sleepover with them! I didn’t even know that was a thing! He and his brother got a really cool game and they want to show me it! Can I go? Please! Please, dad!” 

Virgil sucked in a breath, of course, he would say yes. But...it looks like they aren’t spending any time together this weekend as he wanted… Dee has friends now, he should be hanging out with them and exploring new things. It would feel so wrong to say that Dee can’t go with them. And dee looks so excited for this and…

“Of course you can go. Go tell Remus that I’ll drop you over there this Saturday after lunch, alright?”

Dee’s eyes practically sparkled in happiness and he jumped for joy. “Thank you, dad!! Thank you so so much!” He hugged Virgil before he slithered away and back into the waiting room where the other children are waiting for their parents. 

The moment he did though Virgil’s smile dropped. His eyes went to the floor, and his ears went completely back. 

“Maybe I can’t adapt…Maybe I’m the problem...”


End file.
